Greta Thunberg Says Israel Tortures Humanitarian Fleet Activists

Greta Thunberg and other activists detained from the global ambush of Sumud Flotilla. (Source: Israeli Foreign Ministry)

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on Tuesday accused him and other activists detained from the Global humanitarian fleet Sumud Flotilla of being subjected to torture in the Israeli prison where they were detained.

Speaking at a news conference in Stockholm, Thunberg said they were "culled and tortured" by the Israeli military.

However, he declined to elaborate further, adding when he was urged that he did not get clean water and other prisoners did not receive essential treatment.

"Personally, I don't want to share what I'm experiencing because I don't want to make headlines and 'Greta has been tortured', because that's not the story here," he said, adding that what they experienced was insignificant compared to what people in Gaza experienced every day.

Thunberg joins Global Sumud Flotilla, a group of ships trying to reach Gaza to bring aid supplies and draw attention to the suffering in the enclave, where most of the 2.2 million residents have been evicted from their homes and the United Nations says hunger is rampant.

Thunberg was detained along with 478 people in the fleet and expelled from Israel on Monday.

Swedish activists said on Saturday Thunberg was pushed and forced to wear Israeli flags during his detention. However, Thunberg did not mention this at a press conference on Tuesday.

Thunberg and other participants also complained that the Swedish government did not provide adequate assistance during detention.

The government said in a statement on Tuesday it had repeatedly advised not to travel to Gaza, but to continue to provide consular support to activists and stressed to Israel the importance of treating Swedish citizens well.

Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, but has repeatedly denied molesting prisoners.

"All detainees are given access to water, food and toilets; they are not denied access to legal counsel, and all of their legal rights are fully enforced," an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters last week.

Previously, Israel had detained Thunberg at sea in a similar attempt to break through Israel's blockade of Gaza in June.